Despite efforts of the bank lobby, the Senate defeated a bill that would have delayed the implementation of new rules limiting credit card fees. (Wall Street Journal)

Public entities spent almost $7.5 million in the last fiscal year on contracts with lobbyists hired to monitor and influence state officials, according to the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform’s anual survey. (PR NewsWire)

Revolving Door

Despite a new job with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce promoting ways to limit government regulation, former Sen. Evan Bayh says he is not a lobbyist. (Indy Star)

Campaign Finance

Money spent on issue-oriented advertising by third-party lobbying groups has increased by 754 percent in the last three years – from $2.2 million in 2008 to $18.8 million to 2010, according to a new CommonCause/New York analysis. (Rochester Business Journal)

The FEC rejected Facebook’s request to be completely exempt from campaign disclosure laws regarding Facebook advertisements, ruling that while the ad itself does not need a full disclaimer, the landing page the ad leads to does. (Daily Kos)

The former president of NKS Distributors, Inc. has pled guilty to violating campaign finance laws by reimbursing employees for certain political contributions. (Roll Call $)

Access to Information

ACE Insurance Litigation Watch plans to archive up-to-date insurance regulatory documents from the federal government as well as the states that have been obtained through FOIA for free and easy public access. (Business Wire)

The FCC has released a new report, “Information Needs of Communities,” making recommendations for how the information needs of communities can be met using new digital technologies. (FCC) Recommendations include increased disclosure from broadcasters and C-SPAN-like networks in each state. (Government Executive)

Technology

The health care data community needs to increase innovation to help improve national health outcomes and lower costs, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. (Federal Computer Week)

Over 30 government websites participated in a test of new internet technology, IPv6, yesterday. (Federal Computer Week)

State and Local

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel publicly posted the salaries of every city employee online in an attempt to increase the city government’s transparency. (ABC News)

The St. Charles, Missouri city council has launched Discover St. Charles, a YouTube channel (with accompanying iPhone and Android apps) that delivers government updates to citizens through short video clips. (GovFresh)

International

Lobbying in Poland is difficult to track because regulation focuses solely on professional lobbyists and consultants, leaving the activities of businessmen and other advocates completely out of public view. (EurActiv)

Despite requesting that shipyards avoid using registered lobbyists in an attempt to gain government funding through a massive shipbuilding program, some Canadian MPs and senators have been holding meetings with shipyard lobbyists. (The Canadian Press)